New York Court of Appeals

Ellen Burns, by Elisha W. Chester, Her Guardian, Appellant v. Charles Erben and Thomas Frost, Respondents

June 12, 186940 N.Y. 463

Summary

The Court affirmed the nonsuit, holding that a private individual's arrest is justified only when a felony has actually been committed and there is reasonable ground to suspect the arrestee, and that this question of probable cause is a matter of law, not for the jury. The concurrence agrees with this reasoning.